Chapter 104
―I can’t forgive this…! I can’t forgive it!!
Isabella herself was the one who had suggested how to destroy the baron.
The few mechanisms she set in place to make sure Yulia couldn’t run away from him weren’t even the whole of it. What Cayente wanted most was for Yulia to keep smiling at him forever, knowing nothing. Even if he managed to keep her by his side, if Yulia came to hate him and tried to push him away, that would be hell in its own right.
He didn’t intend to hide it forever. Someday he meant to confess. When they had had children together, raised them, and piled up enough years that their shared time would feel more valuable than the origin of it all. If needed, Cayente was willing to kneel before Yulia.
He didn’t know when that moment would come, or whether she would fully forgive him then… But at that time, at least, even if he had to bring up the baron to explain himself, she would be able to accept his father’s crimes with more composure than now.
Yulia would, in the end, understand him once she knew all this had begun as an act of revenge.
So until that day came, everything had to stay secret…
Cayente wasn’t a cold person—of course he was happy to see his sisters after so long. But it couldn’t have come at a worse time, when Isabella knew everything.
“Brother? Are you listening?”
“I’m listening.”
Ian had asked whether it was really necessary, but Cayente, still wearing a grave expression, offered no further answer. So Ian continued.
“I think I’ll have to go down to Welton a lot anyway. There are plenty of empty rooms on the second floor, so wouldn’t it be fine to work here for a while? Once the big ship is finished and business expands, then we can set up an office—”
“Leave it empty if you want. Get a bigger office than here.”
Cayente focused his unfocused eyes on Ian. Ian opened his mouth as if confused, but when Cayente gave his next order, he nodded without protest.
“Get a building so large and impressive that the man who ordered Yulia kidnapped wouldn’t even dare to interfere again. Put up a sign so big it can be seen from anywhere, and make the doorknob out of gold if you want.”
Giving Yulia whatever she desired with money was important, but far more important was ensuring no one ever tried to touch her again. Imperial police and soldiers were supposed to be more competent than those in the Grand Duchy, yet they still hadn’t caught her kidnapper. And quick-witted Mark still couldn’t figure out who was pulling the strings behind Marquis Bern.
Surely it had to be someone with very high power…
Whoever it was, whenever they were caught, Cayente intended to immediately demand the emperor sentence them to death. No person, no existence, would ever steal Yulia—or anything else in his grasp—from him. He planned to make that warning as grand and dramatic as possible.
Try it, then. Touch what’s mine again, and I’ll repay you far worse.
* * *
When Cayente returned from work, Ayla ran from the lobby and threw herself into his arms when she heard her brother was home. He hugged her fondly. When he saw Isabella standing nearby with swollen eyes, shrinking back awkwardly, he even approached her first and offered his hand. Yulia found this shift from earlier bewildering, but inwardly she felt relieved.
Isabella had locked herself in her room crying and wouldn’t accept anyone’s comfort, but when Cayente embraced her, her expression immediately improved.
The atmosphere seemed to be recovering, so Yulia had hoped dinner would be pleasant… but she soon felt unbearably uncomfortable. Isabella’s sharp, hostile gaze kept stabbing her. She clearly disliked that Cayente left the seat of honor empty to sit beside Yulia, and when he repeatedly filled Yulia’s plate himself, Isabella openly glared.
Because of that, Yulia couldn’t even taste the luxurious dishes the chef had specially prepared. Since Ayla sat on Isabella’s left, she couldn’t see Isabella’s murderous looks and kept laughing brightly, easing the tension a little.
“I don’t know whether to say I’m relieved Brother is doing well in marriage or to tell him it’s creepy and he needs to stop.”
Seeing Cayente fluster around Yulia was embarrassing to witness as a younger sibling. Still, Ayla didn’t seem entirely displeased, because she smiled faintly as she asked:
“So what happened? You have to tell us how you two ended up married. I asked her but she just kept smiling awkwardly.”
Cayente, still mechanically placing food on Yulia’s plate while watching her eat with meticulous attention, turned to Ayla.
“You said you read the article.”
“I did.”
“Everything written there is true.”
Ayla was amazed—was it love at first sight all over again?—but clang! Isabella dropped her fork. Tears welled again in her violet eyes.
Was it because she thought she wasn’t worthy to be her beloved brother’s partner?
Isabella’s eyes were full of resentment as she glared at Yulia, who lowered her gaze. If she learned the marriage had originally been for money, Isabella would likely despise her.
“I’ll leave first.”
Isabella stood as if she couldn’t bear the sight any longer. Ayla tried to stop her.
“Why already? You haven’t even tried the cake Yuria— I mean, Lady Yulia and I made.”
“Who would eat something that woman made?”
Others thought Cayente was impressive, but to his little sister he must have seemed even more extraordinary. Yulia understood the sentiment, but Isabella’s words were extreme. Yulia flinched, startled, and Cayente’s eyes shifted toward his sister.
“Sit.”
“No.”
“I told you to sit.”
“I said no! I don’t want to!”
It was a cold gaze—one with not a trace of warmth. Isabella yelled that her brother was insane and glared at him with the same resentment she’d shown Yulia, tears falling again.
“You’re crazy… Brother, you’re crazy! Do you know that?!”
She screamed loud enough to shake the dining hall and stormed toward the door. Yulia instinctively tried to stand, but Cayente held her down.
“She’ll come back before dessert. Finish eating.”
He pulled Yulia back into her seat and rose to follow Isabella. As she left the dining hall with Cayente behind her, a heavy silence fell. The moment the door shut, Isabella’s crying echoed loudly from the hallway.
“Why is she like that? She wasn’t this bad in the Casad Kingdom. Is she getting emotional because Brother is here?”
Ayla watched the door with a face that looked ready to cry. Yulia was also curious why Isabella was acting that way, and she wanted to follow to help comfort her. But she felt that if she went, it would only make Isabella cry more.
* * *
“Let go!”
“Be quiet.”
“I said let go!”
Isabella had been crying in anger the whole way down the hall, but once she realized Cayente was taking her somewhere far from the dining room, she began struggling violently. Cayente didn’t release her arm and dragged her to the study at the far end of the third floor, closing the door behind them.
“Are you insane? You love who? How is that possible?!”
Dragged unwillingly into the study, Isabella yelled at the back of Cayente’s head as he went to close the window. Worried someone might overhear, Cayente shut the window and even drew the curtains before turning to her.
“Lower your voice.”
“Lower my voice?! You’ve lost your mind! Instead of revenge, you’re treating the daughter of your enemy like a treasure!”
Isabella’s rage boiled over. Her eyes were so wide the whites showed, and she screamed at him.
“Quiet.”
“Argh!”
When Cayente even raised a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence, she began grabbing anything within reach and hurling it.
Cayente clenched his teeth, glancing anxiously at the door, terrified the noise would leak out.
